The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-11-26

The great noise and excitement kicked
up in America whenever an octopus is can.
tured, seems queer enough to a sailor who
has voyaged to tropical countries. From
the Cape Verde Islands clear around the
coast of Africa to tho Gulf of Alden, the
devil fish can be found in all the bghts and
bays. You can find him in the Indian
Ocean, New Zealand Sea, Coral Sea-among
all the islands lying about New Guinea.
He aboundS in the Mediterranean Sea and
Pacific Ocean, and l have seen him in all
the waters from Cuba down to Cape Horn,
and up the other side of Brazil to the
1sthmus of Panama. He is by no means a
rare sight to sailors, and the fact that he is
not dreaded, like the shark, is because in
stances are rare where he attacks man. |
do not believe the hldeous monster ever at
tacks human beings from hunger. The sea
is full OF their sort of food, and nature
mover expected them to prey on the flesh
and bones Of a tough old salt. have read
and heard it often asserted that the octopus
sucks the blood and devours the flesh of the
man unfortunate enough to be entrapped
In those awful arms, but l can prove to the
contrary. My experience with the terrible
creatures has also gone to prove that they
seldom or never attack q person unless
their anger is excited.
In 1865 l was one of the crew of the
American bark Henry Castle, which made
voyage TO the Java Sea and called at sew
eral of the larger islands. One day, while
the ship was lying in the outer harbor OF
Samarang, Island of Java, two of US pulled
the Captain ashore in the gig. We landed
him on rocky point, from whence he took
a short cut across TO the town, and were
ordered to wait there until his return. My
Shipmate, whose name was Thurber,
stretched out for nap as soon as the Capt
ain had gone, while / got out on the point
to have look around. The water was
pretty deep alongside the boat, and by and
by, full of a sailors deviltry, picked up q
large rock and heaved it into the water
with great splash. l calculated on seeing
Thurber start up in alarm, but he only
laughed at my effort. Then | set out to wet
him with a splash, and flung five or six
other rocks as large - / could handle. ]
was hunting for yet another and had my
back to tho boat and the water, when some.
thing brushed past my head. / made leap
aside and wheeled around. In the two
seconds thus occupied l decided that Thur
Der had thrown some missile at me, and ]
laughed as l turned about.
The laugh. however, died away in shout
OF terror. An octopus with body as large
as beer key had risen to the surface and
partly pulled itself on the rocks, and its
half dozen terrible arms were flying about
like so many whip lashos. 1t had flung one
OF them at mo and missed its aim. AL
though was now thirty feet away, it cou-
tinued TO fling two or three feelers in my
direction, but mono OF them could reach
me within fifteen feet. The two longest
arms were from fifteen to eighteen feet
long, and the shorter ones from eight to
ten.
II could have restrained myself for O
few minutes the monster would no doubt
have sunk beneath the waters again, but
the awful stare of its great eyes, the sight
Of the terrible beak, the squirming Of those